Napoli hoping to have Osimhen back in CL clash with Barcelona as star striker refuses to sit on bench v Genoa 

Victor Osimhen watched on from the stands as Cyril Ngonge rescued a point for Napoli in a 1-1 draw with Genoa on matchday 25 in the Italian top-flight on Saturday. 

After starring for Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the reigning African Footballer of the Year returned to Italy on Thursday evening and carried out personalized recovery work on the pitch on Friday and Saturday. 

Napoli's aim is to get him back to fitness before their huge UEFA Champions League clash with Barcelona at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Wednesday, February 21.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri suggested that there was no point in risking his star striker to play for only twenty minutes against Genoa. 

However, the well informed Naples-based daily newspaper Il Mattino, via V Sport, looked at Osimhen's absence from a different angle, stating that Mazzarri hoped to include him in the gameday squad but the Nigeria international declined the opportunity to sit on the bench because he was not one hundred percent physically ready. 

As per the report, Napoli fans condemned Osimhen's attitude and criticized the club for its lack of supervision over the center forward.

The 25-year-old has not played for the defending Serie A champions for close to two months, with his last appearance coming against AS Roma on December 23 - a game in which he saw red. 

Osimhen was not called up for back-to-back Champions League matches with Union Berlin in the group stage due to a hamstring injury he suffered while on international duty. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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